Barns and robots to increase New Zealand production

Last week, the van ­Leeuwen Dairy Group unveiled its barn — which includes 24 ­DeLaval VMS robots — at Makikihi, Canterbury, New Zealand, where it hopes to milk up to 1500 cows by the end of the year.

Up to 725 crossbred cows had been milking in one half of the operation for a week up to last Friday, with herd managers already reporting cows voluntary walking to get milked by themselves.

This isn’t the first robotic barn for owners Aad and Wilma van Leeuwen — but it is the largest.

They want to prove that large herds indoors can be profitable in the country that is synonymous with pasture-based dairy farming.

“We set out to prove to people in New Zealand that pasture isn’t always the future and there are different ways to run (a business),” Mr van Leeuwen said.

“It can be done like this, too — and maybe this is the future at the end of the day, because land is getting more expensive and as the cost goes up we need to get more ­efficient.

“I’m not saying everybody needs to do this tomorrow. But we are proving that it can be done and it is just as profitable.”

Mrs van Leeuwen said the cost of production at the ­couple’s operation was “just over” $NZ4.50 ($A4.02) a kg of milk solids, and the homegrown fodder — mainly maize, lucerne and grass silage — was costed at NZ30 cents a kg dry matter, about the same price as it would cost to buy it.

The van Leeuwen Dairy Group has 12,000 dairy cows across 13 operations supplying Oceania Dairy Ltd, as well as a contracting business.

Mr van Leeuwen moved from Holland in 1983 and spent 10 years on the North Island sharemilking, before he moved to the South Island because of an “opportunity” that arose converting sheep and beef farms to dairy.

The robotic operation is expected to generate at least 1.2 million kg of milk solids a year and the couple want to push production up to 700-800 kg of milk solids per cow within five to eight years.

A key element is growing the capacity of the cows using Friesian bulls as a way to generate more production.

The farm, which has an annual rainfall of 650mm, has ­environmental restrictions — but housing the cows has ­enabled development.

“We established this here in an orange and red zone … once you deal with a red zone everything is a no, so half the farm is orange and half the farm is red, and we managed to establish this in these two zones by proving what we are doing here is sustainable and within the boundaries set by the authorities,” Mr van ­Leeuwen said.

No fertiliser is bought on to the farm. Instead, measured and balanced applications of effluent are injected into the ground to grow the crops.

Effluent is stored in a 12.5-megalitre above-ground tank — sufficient to store half a year’s worth.

The operation is expected to cost about $NZ22 million ($A19.6 million) by the time it is finished.

“We sold a 450,000kg ­solids farm for something like $NZ17-18 million ($A15.2-16.1 million). This farm is going to do three times the production by the time it is up and running fully,” Mr van Leeuwen said.

“It gives you a bit of an idea with what you can do, ­compared with outdoors.”

Other benefits of the ­robotic barn include “absolutely no lameness” due to rubber flooring, balanced feed and sheltered and quiet cows, as well as high production.

The barn will operate 24 hours a day, with a day manager and a night manager.

By end of next year, new technology called Herd Navigator will be installed in the barn to test milk for signs of ketosis, mastitis and heat. The late lactation group will have an online cell counter.